Post Conviction Supervision - Judicial Business 2012
A total of 132,340 persons were under post-conviction supervision on September 30, 2012, which was 2 percent more than one year earlier. Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date following release from a correctional institution increased 3 percent to 108,372 and amounted to 82 percent of all persons under supervision.
Cases opened in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2012, that involved probation imposed by district and magistrate judges fell 2 percent to 22,158 and accounted for 17 percent of all persons under post-conviction supervision (the same percentage as in 2011 and 2010). The number of parole cases open at the end of 2012 dropped 11 percent from the previous year's total to 1,628 cases (parole is not available for persons sentenced for federal offenses committed on or after November 1, 1987).
Excluding transfers, the number of persons received for supervision during 2012 grew 4 percent to 62,096. The number of persons released from correctional institutions and received for supervised release rose 6 percent to 50,147. For persons entering the system this year, probation cases decreased 4 percent to 10,784, and parole cases (including cases involving special parole, military parole, and mandatory release) declined 6 percent to 457.
Forty-eight percent of persons under post-conviction supervision had been convicted of drug offenses, compared to 47 percent the previous year. Twenty-two percent had been convicted of property offenses, and 12 percent had been convicted of firearms offenses; both percentages were unchanged from 2011.
The number of post-conviction supervision cases closed (including those involving transfers out of districts and deaths) increased 3 percent to 60,234. The proportion of post-conviction cases terminated successfully decreased from 71 percent to 70 percent. Of those cases closed successfully, 19 percent were closed by early termination, up from 18 percent the previous year.
Technical violations led to 57 percent of the 16,249 revocations of post-conviction supervision reported. New offenses accounted for the other 43 percent of revocations and for 13 percent of all 54,791 supervision cases terminated (excluding transfers out and deaths). These percentages were the same in 2011.
Comparing data for the last days of fiscal years 2008 and 2012 reveals that the number of persons under post-conviction supervision was 10 percent higher this year. Offenders convicted of drug offenses rose from 46 percent to 48 percent of persons under post-conviction supervision. Those convicted of property offenses dropped from 23 percent to 22 percent of the total, and those convicted of firearms offenses (reported previously as “weapons and firearms” offenses) grew from 11 percent to 12 percent of the total. Persons serving terms of supervised release following release from a correctional institution have climbed 14 percent over the past five years. In 2012, they represented 82 percent of all persons under supervision, up from 79 percent in 2008. These increases likely stemmed from earlier growth in criminal defendant filings.
For data on post-conviction supervision, see Table 8 and the E series of tables.
Investigative Reports
The number of full presentence reports prepared by probation officers decreased 5 percent to 76,985. Ninety-six percent of the reports (73,936) were presentence guideline reports, which are comprehensive investigative reports prepared in felony or Class A misdemeanor cases for which the U.S. Sentencing Commission has promulgated guidelines. Modified presentence reports, which are less comprehensive, represented 2 percent of total presentence investigative reports. Non-guideline reports, reports involving petty offenses, reports for treaty transfer cases, and supplemental reports to the Bureau of Prisons constituted the remaining 2 percent. Non-guideline reports, which involve offenses for which the Sentencing Commission has not promulgated guidelines, decreased from 291 to 153.
Substance Abuse Treatment
Federal offenders receive substance abuse treatment from a variety of sources—state programs, local programs, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment services. The data presented here reflect only Judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment and exclude costs associated with substance abuse testing.
Of the 78,785 offenders under supervision with court-ordered substance abuse treatment conditions, 28,375 received Judiciary-funded treatment. The Federal Judiciary spent an average of $999 per offender for a total of $28.3 million. Nationwide, 36 percent of offenders with conditions requiring substance abuse treatment received Judiciary-funded treatment, down from 40 percent in 2011.
For additional information on Judiciary-funded substance abuse treatment services in the federal probation system, see Table S-13.
Risk Prediction Index
The Risk Prediction Index (RPI) is an eight-question prediction instrument used by federal probation officers to estimate the likelihood that an offender will be arrested or have supervision revoked during his or her term of supervision. RPI scores range from 0 to 9, with a low score representing a low risk of reoffending and a high score a higher risk of reoffending.
The average RPI score, which rose from 3.45 in 2008 to 3.70 in 2011, remained unchanged in 2012. Although the average risk level of offenders under federal supervision has been relatively stable, the table below shows it increased slightly in four of the past five years.
| Fiscal Year | Average RPI Score |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 3.45 |
| 2009 | 3.53 |
| 2010 | 3.56 |
| 2011 | 3.70 |
| 2012 | 3.70 |